BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY MARCH 11, 2019) — Will he run? Will she run?

Two simple questions with complicated answers.

“He” is Joe Biden and the 2020 presidential election. “She” is Melissa Mazzeo as she considers a run for mayor. For both, the time might be right, the stars aligned, and the planets — to say nothing of THE PLANET— might be in their required orbits. Keep in mind that these points do not represent endorsement but analysis.

THE CASE FOR BIDEN:

He’s a product of Syracuse University. OK, THE PLANET admits to a certain bias here.

He would be the sole centrist among Democrats who have declared. The rest only guarantee a Trump re-election.

He has enough gravitas to heal his fractured party.

Biden has solid credentials with respect to economics and foreign policy.

He was a “heartbeat away” from the Oval Office for eight years

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Biden is ahead or near the top of the polls,” though he hasn’t even declared.

A few days ago, he told “a hometown audience” that “The most important people in my life want me to run.” His family’s all in.

No one can match Biden’s “vast reservoir of good will within the party.”

He is viewed “as his party’s best chance to win back Midwestern states” that Hillary Clinton lost to Trump in 2016 (WSJ).

Biden is interviewing potential staff and donors.

He has asked his team to come up with a list of policy advisers.

His “points of reference” are pre-millennial and “hark back to an era of bipartisan cooperation that hasn’t been in effect in Washington in a generation.”

He possesses the “likeable” factor in spades.

He has a compelling personal story of triumph over adversity.

THE PLANET says: Biden will run for the presidency.

———- ooo ———-

THE CASE FOR MAZZEO

She has authentic Pittsfield bonafides.

She has as much name recognition as anyone who might run for mayor this year, including Linda Tyer.

Mazzeo, like Tyer, comes from machine politics. The former DelGallo-now-Ruberto machine (Tyer) and the Wojtkowski-Bianchi machine (Mazzeo) have controlled elections dating back at least to Evan Dobelle, alternating victors and vanquished. Machines provide built-in organization, financing, and backing.

Mazzeo has years of experience as councilor-at-large, a citywide office.

She served a term as council president.

She’s smart enough to have learned from the mistakes she made in that leadership role.

She’s good on the stump.

She grasps the issues.

She’s not afraid to rock the boat, as her comments on the GE Consent Decree illustrate.

Like Tyer, she has an influential, well-known spouse who will be an asset on the campaign trail

Judging by interest shown on THE PLANET and her comment below, there is a significant cache of voters who want her to run.

As a woman, Mazzeo neutralizes the gender aspect, sure to come up in the campaign if Tyer faces a man.

Mazzeo can count on key council allies, notably Chris Connell and Kevin Morandi.

A Tyer-Mazzeo final would set up a heavyweight bout that would increase turnout.

A Tyer-Mazzeo fight would be viewed by supporters of Paul Caccaviello as a proxy for the Cacc-Harrington D.A. slugfest. The Cacc-Capeless camp could have a large impact on a close race.

Add the four-year factor. If she doesn’t do it now, there’s another four-year wait.

Over the weekend, Mazzeo told THE PLANET: “I can’t tell you how often I get asked [are you running for mayor] EVERY DAY!! I am collecting a lot of data, because I’m not here to run for mayor just to run for mayor. This is about how Pittsfield is working, and is it working for everyone? It doesn’t feel like it is, but I don’t want to approach an election based on anecdotes. I’m really trying to understand how residents are feeling about their lives in Pittsfield and how city leadership is helping that or hurting it. If my neighbors and our neighborhoods feel well-served by this administration, then that would be enough for me.”

THE PLANET says: Mazzeo will run for mayor.

Your thoughts, as always, will be appreciated.

—————————————————————————————————————

“It gets late early out there” — Yogi Berra, explaining a key error in the World Series when he lost a ball in old Yankee Stadium’s notorious October left-field sun.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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104 Responses to “THE PLANET PREDICTS: BIDEN WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT, MAZZEO FOR MAYOR”

Biden is not the only centrist among declared Dem candidates – Hickenlooper is a centrist and has been ordained by the Bilderbergers/globalists. My money is on Hickenlooper to clinch the Dem party presidential nomination. Biden has a lot of skeletons in his closet.

I hope that Mazzeo or Connell will run for mayor. I would vote for either one of them!

I love following Pittsfeld politics! And, I love reading Dan Valenti’s blog about Pittsfield politics! It is interesting to me how a community long ran by Good Old Boys – who are politicians from interrelated established local families – ran a once promising working class city into the proverbial ditch! To date, the most important resource of a community – it’s people – has decreased by thousands of residents because many hundreds of living wage jobs were lost. PEDA is over 20 years old, and it is still polluted with industrial toxic chemicals, with zero private investors. The Consent Decree with GE is fraudulent because most of the PCBs sites were capped instead of cleaned up, including Hill 78 near Allendale Elementary School. The problem is that engineered caps do not last forever. That means the many capped PCBs sites in Pittsfield need to be cleaned up and re-capped within a few decades of the original capping. The city government is drowning in municipal debts to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, including OPEB liabilities. Pittsfield’s downtown has seen multiple shootings and other forms of violence and poverty. To illustrate, if someone gave me one million dollars to walk down North Street at night, I would either say “no thank you” or I would do it and poop my pants in fear. Pittsfield has no living wage jobs for the average worker who is not politically connected to the aforementioned notorious Good Old Boys club. And if you find a low-wage job in Pittsfield, then you better kiss the G.O.B.’s dirty behinds to keep that job. If you speak out against one of the “made men” of the local mafia-like G.O.B. families, you will lose your job, and be blacklisted from employment, and then they will spread vicious rumors about you. Pittsfield is one of the most economically unequal communities in the state and nation. That means you are either poor or near poor and rely on welfare and social services, or you are high income and wealthy. The real butt-kicker about Pittsfield is that no matter who is in power in City Hall and state politics, things never change for the better in Pittsfield. The vested interests – big 3 unions – always win, while the hard-hit taxpayers always lose. In closing, I don’t see how replacing the lovely Linda Tyer with the lovely Melissa Mazzeo will impact anything for the better in Pittsfield! My choice in to re-elect Mayor Linda Tyer. She inherited a mess from the “Doyle debacle”, the “Hathaway hack”, the “Ruberto regime”, and the “Bianchi bust”. I believe the lovely Linda Tyer should be granted 4 more years to lead Pittsfield towards a better future. If Pittsfield predictably gets worse by 2023, then she should be replaced by someone like Melissa Mazzeo.

The real butt kicker is you are going to take my hard earned money I pay in federal tax and give it The Lovely Linda, so she can get re-elected and raise my taxes some more, whereas if you would be a victor instead of a victim, and get a job, and support yourself, you would be giving her your own hard earned money, that’s if you had any left after paying for your own food, housing, utlities, clothes, etc, like us working fold do.

I thought this link would be about the pistol whipping and Wild West shootings this past weekend

Ms a Harrington should finish clearing the previous administrations supporters from her office,& hire people loyal to herself. She is being undermined by those who are still loyal to the corrupt former capeless/Caccaviello regime, hoping to hinder me Harrington to provide “no probable cause Paul “ an advantage in the next election.

On violent crime; Mayor Tyer: ” I don’t have the answer “. At least she made the current state of affairs more solidified by repaying political favors when she disgardied MA civil service and stacked the deck with her own pro temp, homemade version, then made the city’s chief public safety officer permanent, no matter what the crime rate is. Status Quo, politics, and all feeding from the public trough. Taxpayers ???? What Taxpayers !!!!

Maybe Mazzeo will show common sense with water treatment. Cryptosporidium is becoming a big issue with drinking and waste water. The system chosen by Turocy/Tyer will not treat this pathogen. If Mazzeo can convince the council that an ozonator system is the way to go Pittsfield will save about 40 million, we will have an upto date water and waste water system and we’ll save a huge amount of money.

I read her comments to mean she is not running, unless she really hears people are discontented. She can’t be worse than Bianchi who was a disappointment and she’s got to be better than Tyer, but she’s not going to be a big change agent if she does run.

Biden is better than the rest but is already backtracking to align himself with the loons on the left and uncle Joe is a deviant himself who can’t keep his hands off woman plus he’s old and white and would be sure to pick a horrible vp choice like Kampala Harris.

If she’s not going to run on big changes, why bother running? If she is going to run on change, they better be big and bold and she must be clear in what they are. We haven’t had a transformational mayor in my lifetime. If she is just going to be another tax and spender, go along to get along Charlene, why bother? She hasn’t pushed for substantial spending cuts EVER, has she?

Biden would be the puppet and the far left would be the puppet masters. Biden is too weak and would easily give in to the crazy far left agenda.

I am not a fan of Melissa Mazzeo because of her stance on the super Walmart issue and her support of high taxation for the city. She must be very out of touch if she has to collect data to figure out what shape the city is in since the problems we are facing are quite obvious.

What I would wish for in a new Pittsfield mayor would be one who is super strict on wasteful spending. And I would vote for Mazzeo over Tyer. But that would be out of both exasperation and desperation and here is why.

As stated above both of these woman are well connected to a wealthy donor base. And as we have seen, not unexpectedly, Mayor Tyer has bent over backward to take good care of her friends and benefactors. (to the detriment of the taxpayers I might add)

And though I will vote for anybody else just for a change, I have no illusions that Mazzeo will be much different. When certain people donate money and assistance to a political campaign they do so expecting some form of payback. Melissa knows that and her backers know that she knows that.

This may be a “same shit different day” election in Pittsfield, the city of low expectations and grabby hands.

Anyone but Trump and anyone but Tyer as both are spending my grandkids money to make wealthy people wealthier. Who can consolidate our school system so we have better quality and security under one roof.Pittsfield needs a five year plan for schools as Behnke,Yon,McCandless, Curtis, Marchetti kick this can down the road.Tyer does not get it and consolidation does not fit her future,she will not consolidate schools so poor people can live here and own a home.TAXES MUST GO DOWN and rebuild our bussiness.

Well she had to make at least 5 of her campaign donors very happy. And then she accomplished saving Mr. Stanley a ton of real money. There was a down side to that but let us not speak of that right now. There is a guy with an old church on Tyler st that is smiling ear to ear. Somebody with a contract to fix up the marquee in front of the senior center. How in the hell did the taxpayers not beg for this white elephant upgrade sooner?

Guess ya got throw in a handful of consultants that can’t wipe the grin off their faces. And the teachers are looking for more money just before the eletion…whodathunkit. Whomever may reflect that they are going to take care of these poor orphans is gonna get elected AND THE TEACHERS KNOW IT!!

It’s not my position to campaign on Linda Tyer’s behalf. She’s proven her worth – over and over and over – again and again!!

My suggestion is you might wish to pose that very question to Barry Clairmont or to Linda Tyer, herself. Those two are most qualified to respond in kind.

Since you brought it up . . .

Could you name “five or six [Mazzeo] accomplishments? Exactly.

Other than obstructing every piece of legislation proposed by Tyer’s administration, I’m not seeing much substance in her candidacy. Of course she is a Bianchite (and we know how that unfolded in 2015), so she’s got that goin’ for her!!!

Although, you might suggest to Mazzeo she run on an “integrity” and “experience” platform; it worked well when she supported Cacc last year, right? Exactly!!

Yeah but you already have advocated for Ms. Tyer. You were challeneged to list five or six of the mayor’s accomplishments. You tried a clumsy feint. Fooled no one.
So let’s make it easier. Hoe about two or three of Linda’s accomplishments.

On another note thanks Planet for cleaning up the comment section this site. Comments are much more intelligent.

The problem is that too many Pittsfield politicians are stuck in GE mode. When GE was here people got raises on a regular basis. They had the option of working overtime. They were able to stay ahead of taxes. But now a good portion of Pittsfield are retired people or people on some form of assistance. Tbe economic base can no longer sustain the slush fund spenders. Tyer hasn’t figured this out yet. I hope Mazzeo has.

I’ve been saying that about Dan for sometime now. He lays out the facts and let’s the readers decide on where it leads them. You’re right about the Planet being pretty accurate on most of his predictions. In my opinion he is a big part of the B.E.’s lower circulation problems.

What do local reps do to control our gas and utilities. Bouvier let Eversourse double my electric bill even after removal of elect hot water heater…How could that not save me 50 a month,new energy efficient appliances, new energy light bulbs ,new service and new meter…..my bill doubled in 7 years.Cut laundry by 1/2….it does not pay to conserve

Biden – I think it’s too early to predict, especially when Mueller’s report hasn’t been released. Who knows whats going to happen in the next few months. Mr. Valenti is correct though. The country needs moderation. I am actually hoping Weld runs.
Mazzeo – She definitely does her homework on all issues. I hope if she does, she will listen to what the entire community has to say and not just the bitchers. The bitchers are going to bitch no matter who is elected. Get out and talk to some young adults. Be positive, one of Tyer’s attributes.

The taxpayers are starving for a mayor with the balls to say NO to the greedy unions. And NO to the glad handers looking for payback or handouts or freebies. A mayor who gets several legitimate bids for all large contracts. A mayor who does not give a shit if he or she gets reelected and will do what is right for the people….all the people and not just family and friends.

Exactly. Pittsfield is in a mess that it will never get out of. There is no hope whatsoever, as history keeps repeating itself with unqualified leadership. It is nepotism on steroids, money grabbers leaving the till empty. The roads alone could not be properly fixed in years. Pittsfield is a shit hole.

Seriously, if your kid gets a good college education and has potential for a decent job would you encourage them to stay in Pittsfield? Or would you love them enough to tell them to find their fortune elsewhere?

If you are connected perhaps you stay but otherwise give yourself a chance and see what options are available elsewhere.

The saddest part of the Pittsfield population is the elderly trying to hang on to their homes by their fingernails. The people who were born and raised here wishing they could live in the home they grew up in until they die but being chewed up by ever increasing taxes.

How long is the list for low income elderly housing in Pittsfield? People being forced out of their homes because social security and pension money can’t keep up with the tax burden.

Is there anyone else thinking of runing for mayor or council? We need to study everyones background. These people should all have a background in finance. Tyer is the poorest mayor ever. Does Mazzeo have a background in finance?. We cant keep electing people like tyer. She is useless to the taxpayer

Or like what wisdom tooth you want pulled first. The accomplishments just aren’t there, and she has continued with the gobsig investments. Where is the outcry with the museum sales or the Beacon Mirage?

Kept the Beacon alive (with your money)
Kept Cavanta alive (with your money)
Pushing for free home improvements for free loaders(with your money)
“invested millions” in the schools (wth your money)
Supported “restorative Justice” in the schools, which means no discipline, so the number of miscreants go down on paper
Tyler Trash Cans (with your money)
Supported a get soft on crime DA
Gave millions away to “public safety”, with no accountability or effect, and no reductions in crime, but $1,000,000 overtime for police is okay with her
Supported marijuana distribution facility
Raised your taxes several times
doubled or tripled, or will double or triple, your water and sewer rates

Just reading about the Region 1 Science Fair on iberkshires website. There was only one student entry from Taconic and zero from Pittsfield High School. Westfield H.S. had a small army of students participating.
What has happened to our local schools? No wonder kids are choicing out – there doesn’t appear to be any focus on STEM in the local Pittsfield schools! Shameful!

If you love your kid and want them to get a decent education and a chance to get out of what has become a largely hopeless Pittsfield you send them out of town for an education. Take a cue from the Pittsfield teachers, many of whom send their own children out of Pittsfield. And who would know better than they? One of the reasons they want even more money is because of the uphill battle it has become to teach in Pittsfield.

But Pittsfield offers courses no other town does: How to Bully And Get Away With It, Bringing a Concealed Weapon to School, Buying and Selling Drugs (Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced), Blame All Your Faults On White Folk.
What parent or kid wouldn’t want that?

So Pelosi says there will be no impeachment proceedings. Because there never was any Russian collusion. And their only witness is a pathological liar and a fraud. At least she’s making the right decision for once.

Southeast Pittsfield Ward 3 and 4 elect everyone.Get rid of at large seat and you will level the field.People who live outside 3 and 4 do not vote.At the same time some of 3 and 4 are in the 10k area of realestate taxes and that high.Add in the 3 or 4 bathroom tax and its expensive.Lenox taxes are cheaper.You can’t get anyone to vote in 80% Of Pittsfield.

I couldn’t agree more, Spider. The subcommitte members who voted for it include Moonbat, Caccamo, White & Persip.
Ruffer made the comment that due to the high amount of interest that the program has already generated – that the $250,000 will only see the program thru the first year. So you know what that means – the mayor will use the GE Funds as her checkbook to dole out free money to homeowners. The funds “may” be forgiven, so that money ain’t comin back jack!

Planet is 100% right,this money should never be used for a feel good announcement pretending to be interested in poor people.Mayor Tyer is getting to be the best real politician around,before you know it her and Bouvier and HarringtonMoon will be wrestling for camera time.Pete Ask is would have had a field day with Tyer.Please cut down tree limbs near street lights in the hood

Distribution of heroin with a long history of prior drug offenses including running a trap house, now assault on a pregnant woman – one year. There you go, North Adams, another big victory for progressive justice!

One year in jail for North Adams man who admitted assaulting pregnant woman, selling heroin
Posted Monday, March 11, 2019 7:27 pm
By Bob Dunn, The Berkshire Eagle
PITTSFIELD — A North Adams man has admitted to assaulting a pregnant woman during a robbery attempt and selling heroin.

Kurt Vosburgh, 54, appeared in Berkshire Superior Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to his charges before Judge John Agostini. The imposition of Vosburgh’s sentence was stayed until Thursday to allow him time to tend to medical issues.

Vosburgh admitted that on June 9, 2017, he was waiting outside a Tapestry Health facility on West Main Street in North Adams, about two hours after he had received services there. He approached one of the workers after she’d finished her shift and was walking to her car, and shoved her while trying to steal her pocketbook.

The woman, four months pregnant at the time, managed to fight off Vosburgh and get into her car before driving to the North Adams Police Department and reporting the assault.

Then, on Oct. 5, 2018, police who had received information that Vosburgh was selling heroin made arrangements for an undercover purchase of $40 worth. Vosburgh was subsequently arrested and found with the marked money used for the buy and 24 bags of heroin.

In all, Vosburgh pleaded guilty to unarmed assault with the intent to rob, assault and battery on a pregnant victim, distribution of heroin and possession of heroin [subsequent offense].

Vosburgh has a prior conviction for heroin possession from 2017, according to Assistant Berkshire District Attorney Kyle Christensen, who prosecuted the cases.

Agostini adopted the agreed-upon sentencing recommendation of one year in jail proffered by Christensen and attorneys Edmund St. John III, who represented Vosburgh in the assault case and Glenn Keiderling, who handled the narcotics charges.

Vosburgh will serve his sentence at the Berkshire Jail and House of Correction and was given credit for 137 days of time already served.

Jeesh, I thought Harrington was going to be tough on violent crime? Maybe she does not consider assaulting a pregnant woman and act of violence.
And that clean needle program is working wonders ain’t it! He gets his methadone high free courtesy of the taxpayer, then tries to rob a woman so he can go buy heroin.
If this crap was in a movie no one would believe it.

Very interesting in Pittsfield over the weekend. Lots of people getting pulled over in traffic while they were searching for the person who was shooting at houses and chasing people in cars trying to shoot them. Just driving through the city I saw people being handcuffed. It was a wild weekend for sure.

This city has gotten away with murder. Who the hell funds a school system with not only low numbers academically,as well as not downsizing the physical aspect?

You have local politicians sending their kids out of town? You also have students who’s parents work here that go out of town?

You have money being delivered to private companies like Covanta? Are we nuts? You have 39 million dolllars worth of non audited cash laid out to one man for a struggling entity?

You have donated ART worth 10s of millions as a bounty for the connected because of bad management practices.

Money to Shaker Cillage?

Workshop Live?
Millions for overtime for PPD?
Unneeded water rate increases?110s of millions for zip
Assessed home values up? More tax for the homeowner
Stinky looking garbage cans on Tyler
Pick pocket taxto fix dumps like the Springside House,something out of Gunsmoke.
Health insurance for the poor worker on th level of a rich mans class. We pay more than they?
Roads hideous and never ever a concrete plan.
Retread Committees and Boards.

I could go on and on, please tune into the City Council Meeting tonight. Maybe we can Weed out a few rats. The Economic Developement fund should not be squandered for the misuse they’ll be talking about.

A sub committee of the hand pick board of Councilors has already accepted this vote. One question that should be asked to the City Solicitor should be,is this Legal to begin with? Let’s see a stamp before th Vote.

Tyer cant do a thing about crime until she consolidates schools.PHS is empty as it was rebuilt for 1600 kids and has 650 a joke we did not build 1 new high school….eberwien,amuso,Masimiano and the do nothing Bouvier who in 2019 built a building that has higher electric bill than the old building

Is Tyer a great mayor? A good mayor? Or a self aggrandizing puppet with a horrible sense of priority?

Well let us take a look at the roads. Of course we live in New England and potholes are a matter of course. But they get much worse when the roads are neglected for years. When they are allowed to deteriorate into the substrate as in Pittsfield. Road maintenance is not something that sneaks up on a city budget as it is an ongoing maintenance item. But in Pittsfield, for some reason the mayor cannot figure out, the roads have gone to hell and they claim they do not have enough money to do it properly, fixing a few roads each year and falling further and further behind.

Now they have this new income from pot sales and they are arguing about what to use it for. Maybe half goes to the roads maybe not. If it is a new source of income and the roads are falling apart AND you don’t have another source why not use ALL the pot money and do the job right? We got money for pickle ball and new dog parks and marquees and fixing up Tyler street and probably new teacher raises???

More Hollywood phonies. Just like Jennifer Anniston and her friend Courtney Cox flying all over in their private planes while supporting the Green New Deal that would end plane travel for the rest of us.

More wealthy people using their Trump tax breaks to bribe people so their white advantage stays intact.Rich people are all alike.Money gets you places that hard work wont take you.Buy your way to the top of the economic pyramid.

Fox news contributer just reported on Tucker show that socialism is being taught in grammar school. This is so blatant a lie im speechless,Tucker looked at her and had nothing to say.Fox propaganda is all over this socialist word.Socialism for the wealthy is never spoken by the Murdochs